by Blake Morgan
Suddenly, there was a movement beside me and I felt the press of another pair of legs against my side. Ben stopped rubbing and I stopped kicking, and the laughter faded away.
“Urgh, your dog smells!” My heart sank. I knew that voice. It was Jake. I should have known he’d be here. Even though we’d made loads of friends at school, Jake never seemed to quite disappear into the background. He was always there, especially when Lily was around.
“Budge up,” Noah whispered to me, and I shuffled along to curl up on the floor at Noah’s feet. He glanced sideways at Jake. “Happy now? Buddy can’t help how he smells.”
“I suppose so,” Jake grunted. He was looking across at the window as Lily’s dad pulled out of the street. At least he wasn’t picking arguments, but he seemed in an odd mood. It was almost as though I could see the dog blanket of darkness hanging heavy on his shoulders. Why isn’t he happy? Did his mum force him to have a bath last night?
“Who’s excited to get to the beach?” Lily’s mum asked from the front of the minivan. A chorus of voices replied “ME!” excitedly and hands were thrust into the air.
In the front of the van, a smaller girl was sat beside Lily’s mum. Noah saw me looking and he bent to whisper in my ear. “That’s Lily’s little sister, Amelia. She’s two years below us.”
At the sound of her name, the girl twisted round in her seat to look back at us. When she saw me her eyes lit up. I couldn’t blame her – I was looking pretty good in my new collar, which had neon-yellow stripes and stars on it.
“A dog!” She took out her mobile phone and aimed the camera lens at me. “Say cheese!”
I squared my shoulders. A photo! Maybe it could go in Noah’s album! I opened my jaws as wide as they would go – Humans yawn when they’re tired, but dogs yawn when they’re excited too.
Instantly, I heard Jake gasp in horror. “He’s baring his teeth at Amelia!”
All the happiness ran out of my body. I licked my lips and settled down on the floor of the van, hiding my face behind Noah’s ankles.
“Don’t be silly,” Noah said, pulling me back out. “He does that when he’s excited. This breed of dogs doesn’t bite. In fact, any well-trained dog doesn’t bite.”
“How do I know he’s well trained?” Jake said darkly.
Lily let out a long breath. “Are you kidding? Haven’t you seen how well-behaved Buddy is at school, and how he takes—”
Noah suddenly interrupted her. “How he takes everything in his stride? I’m his owner – he listens to me. Honestly, Jake. You don’t need to worry.” His voice was friendlier now, but I knew why he’d interrupted Lily. She was going to say I take care of Noah, but Noah didn’t like having to be protected. He preferred to think of us as just a dog and his owner, just like Katie had told us that first day we’d met.
“Hey, look!” a voice called out. “We’re nearly there.” I scrambled to gaze out of the window as we drove through the town. There was only one thing I was looking for. House, house, café, park, arcade … beach! I gave a yowl of excitement as I finally spotted the blue glint of the sea. I remembered the salty smell of the air and the squawk of the seagulls from when we’d come here with Noah’s parents. And the seagulls were all here now too, waiting to welcome Noah and me back! The strong scent of excitement flooded the minivan as Lily’s dad drove into the car park.
“Everybody out!” Lily’s mum leaped from her seat and came to slide open the doors. Noah, Lily, Mattie, Ben and the others scrambled out into the sunshine and ran to jump up on to the low wall at the edge of the car park. Amelia was helping her mum and dad pull out blankets and a picnic basket from the boot of the van, and as they walked over to join us, Amelia took out her phone again. Snap, snap, snap! Holding the phone in one hand and a blanket under her other arm, she snapped away, taking photos of us all.
“Amelia wants to be a photo journalist,” Lily explained, high-fiving her sister.
“Last one on the beach buys the ice creams!” Lily’s dad cried, and we all whooped and barked with joy as we raced on to the sand, running between grassy hillocks towards the sea.
I could feel it in my dog bones – Lily’s birthday outing was going to be the best day ever!
Noah let me off the lead and I streaked across the beach until I reached the hard-packed ridges of wet sand by the shore. The water felt good beneath my paws and I plunged into the frothy waves, barking with delight.
One, two, three – jump! As each set of waves rushed towards the beach, I’d jump over them, my legs splashing in the water. It was the best fun a dog could have without a ball!
I looked back over my shoulder to see Noah watching me from the beach, smiling to see me so happy. Stay close, Buddy, I told myself. I could never leave Noah for too long – what if he started to feel poorly?
I raced back to him, just as the picnic blanket was being spread out. I shook the seawater off my fur, turning my body as hard as I could. Droplets sprayed out – much further than I intended – and Lily’s friends cried out, throwing their hands up to protect themselves.
“Dog shower!” Lily shouted, warning everyone. I stopped shaking and looked round at them all in confusion. What was the big deal? Hadn’t they ever needed to dry off?
I poked my nose into the wicker picnic basket and felt my mouth water. Roast chicken legs! I looked around hopefully. Someone here would sneak me one, surely.
“Are you all right, Noah?” Lily’s mum asked, brushing the wet hair off his face to peer into his eyes.
I’d heard Noah’s dad speaking to her on the phone last night. Noah had gone to bed, but his dad had let me out for one last turn around the garden. As I’d padded upstairs to sleep in Noah’s room, his dad had made the call. “He can sometimes feel faint,” Noah’s dad had said, “but Buddy will take care of him.” Too right, I thought now, nudging past Lily’s mum.
Noah and I settled on the blanket. She threw herself down beside Noah and the two of them tucked into some little triangle sandwiches and a bag of grapes. Everyone was eating and chatting and Lily was in the centre of it all. As I watched from my place beside the picnic blanket, I felt so happy for her.
Then the day got even better. Lily’s mum reached into the picnic basket and brought out … a birthday cake! It had a red ribbon and white icing, matching Lily’s outfit.
“Come on, everyone! Let’s sing ‘Happy Birthday’!” The other children gathered around and Amelia snapped away on her phone. The chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ floated across the beach, and my tail wagged, drawing an angel wing in the sand. I was so happy, I opened my mouth to join in but Noah clamped his hand around my muzzle and shook his head, laughing. Honestly, I couldn’t understand why no one wanted me to join in with the singing!
Lily cut the cake into slices and passed them around on paper napkins printed with unicorns. Her dad was blowing up a unicorn beach toy and Amelia was wearing a unicorn rubber ring. What was it with this family and unicorns?
After we’d eaten the cake, Lily’s mum gave everyone a nod as though it was time. One by one, they reached into a backpack or beach bag and pulled out a present. Ben had bought her a set of colouring pencils for craft club and Mattie had found her a toolbox for her coding club. Someone else had bought her a charm bracelet and another friend handed over a giant book of crossword puzzles. Each gift seemed more perfect than the last and I sensed Noah shrinking back beside me. By then, I knew him well enough that he didn’t even have to whisper his worries to me. Everyone else’s present is better than mine. That’s what he was thinking – I knew it.
He started to shove his backpack behind him but I scrambled over the blanket to stop him. I nudged my nose against the bag and it was Noah’s turn to read my mind. We can give her our present together.
Slowly, he reached inside and passed his gift to me. I held it between my jaws as gently as I could and trotted over to Lily, dropping the present at her feet. It landed with a soft thud in the sand.
“Happy birthday,” Noah said shy
ly.
“I forgot to bring a present,” Jake said in a low voice from beside Noah. He bit his lip as he watched Lily inspect the gift Noah had given her.
Noah’s eyes slid to the side, watching Jake’s face. “We can say my present is from both of us, if you like.”
Jake’s eyes widened in shock. “No, I—”
Before Jake could say anything else, Noah cleared his throat and jerked a thumb in Jake’s direction. “It’s from both of us,” he announced.
Lily’s eyes sparkled with delight. “I’m so glad!” she cried, and I knew instantly she wasn’t just talking about the present, but also about Jake and Noah making friends.
Lily was still trying to guess what the present was. First she shook the box, then she smelled it, then she tested the weight in her palm. “I can’t guess,” she said. Then she ripped off the paper, opened the box and saw…
“Oh my goodness,” she said, turning the ball over and over. She looked up at Noah and Jake, her eyes gleaming. “A new rounders ball. Real leather! How did you both know? I’ve had this on my wish list for ages.”
Noah shrugged. “I … I mean, we just guessed.” His face turned beetroot-red with pride.
Lily threw her arms around his neck and then Jake’s. “Thank you, oh, thank you both.” She turned to the others. “Now we can have a game of beach rounders! Who wants to play?”
“YES!” Everyone leaped to their feet.
“We can practise for Activity Day,” Mattie added. I’d heard about this from listening to Noah and Lily – Activity Day was a special day of sports at the end of the school year and it was happening the next day. It was going to be held in a special arena – there would even be a hot-dog stand!
But Lily’s face fell. “Oh no. We didn’t bring a rounders bat.”
“Oh yes, we did.” Her mum pulled a bat out of the bottom of the picnic basket. “Do you honestly think we’d forget? It’s your favourite game!”
Lily danced on the spot. “This is the best birthday ever. Come on, everyone!”
All the children gathered on the beach and organized themselves into two teams. Amelia took a stick and dragged it through the sand to mark out a pitch, then Jake placed a small pile of pebbles at each corner in place of a post. Noah stood with the bat between his hands, shifting his weight from hip to hip. He was a natural!
“Ready!” Lily had the ball in her hand and took a run up, before releasing it through the air. Noah hit the ball in one smooth movement and dropped the bat in the sand, before running from base to base, his trainers flashing across the sand! A few weeks ago he’d been playing for the very first time with Lily, and now he seemed able to read her movements, guessing which way the ball was going to arc through the sky.
The ball landed behind a sandcastle and I chased after it, picking it up gently between my jaws to carry it back to the teams. “Well done, Buddy!” Lily called over to me. “You’ll be on the team soon!”
As they carried on playing, I stood sentry beside Amelia, who was busy taking photos. Every time Noah ran past me, I’d lift my nose and search the air for his scent. Everything seemed to be all right and by the way he was throwing himself around the beach, I could tell he was happy. This meant that whenever the ball was hit a long way down the beach, I didn’t mind racing after it to bring it back. It felt great to run beside the waterline, kicking up pawfuls of sand. But as I turned back for another time, carrying the ball in my mouth, I noticed that Jake and Noah had left the game to drift down towards the sea. I wanted to follow Noah but I had to get the ball back to the rest of the team.
As I trotted back to the game, my eyes didn’t leave Noah and Jake. I could only guess that they wanted some time alone to test out the shape of their new friendship, now that Noah had allowed Jake to share the gift for Lily. Still, there was no way I was abandoning my charge as Detection Dog. So I dropped the ball at Lily’s feet and raced back down the beach towards them.
As I arrived beside the boys, they were picking their way across the rocks near the caves. Clusters of seaweed drifted in rock pools and pointed barnacle shells clustered in groups, hurting the pads of my paws as I tried to follow. My front paw slipped into a rock pool and I let out a yowl of pain.
Noah’s head whipped round. “Buddy, what are you doing?”
Jake looked back too, and I saw him roll his eyes. “Stay on the beach!” he shouted, batting a hand at me. Noah turned around to him and Jake lowered his voice – but not enough. I still heard what he said next.
“Why can’t he leave us alone?” Jake grumbled. “Just the two of us. I’m your friend, not Buddy’s.”
I froze to the spot, waiting to see what Noah would do. Surely, he’d stand up for me? But he shoved his fists into his pockets and followed in Jake’s shadow. He glanced back and pulled a face as though to say, Sorry Buddy.
Sorry? Not sorry enough to tell Jake what a good dog I was! The hurt pierced my heart like a thorn in my paw. I started to pad after them, but my paws slipped on the rocks and the pads of one of my feet slid into a rock pool, catching on the sharp edges of some barnacle shells.
Oweeeee! I couldn’t hold back a howl and when I looked down I saw a cloud of blood billowing in the seawater. That couldn’t be good! I raised my paw in front of my nose and inspected it. A fine slice scored the soft underside of my foot. A cold shiver of understanding ran down my spine: this was a dangerous place.
I glanced up at the distant figures of Jake and Noah. They were heading further towards the cliff face, where even more scattered rocks were piled up. It’s not safe. They shouldn’t be going there. But if I followed, would Noah think I was being a nuisance too?
I couldn’t bear the idea that my bond with Noah might be spoiled. But then I tried to imagine what Katie would say, and I knew straight away. No way am I letting him go out there without me. I have a Very Important Job to do. Abandon Noah? Never! In an instant, I began clambering over the rocks again, determined to follow – even with a hurt paw.
Jake’s voice drifted back to me on the warm air and my ears stood up. “There’s an entrance just round here.” He pointed and I followed the line of his finger towards the base of the cliff, where a small entrance to a cave sat hidden in the shadows, dark and brooding. The sun definitely didn’t reach in there and I felt my flanks shiver as I imagined how damp and eerie it must be inside. How could Humans possibly want to go in there? It looked like the type of place a wild bear might live!
But the boys carried on and I was forced to follow as the rocks turned into boulders. It was getting more and more difficult for my four paws to keep their grip, the seaweed was growing in thick, slippery ropes now. A dog could break a furry leg, if he wasn’t careful! My cut paw was still bleeding, I noticed. Still, I kept following them. I glanced back and noticed that I could hardly see the game of rounders now – I definitely couldn’t see the ball.
I turned back to continue following them, but – they had disappeared! Noah? Jake? Where are you? I felt the panic start to rise in my chest and I lifted my head to the sky, giving a long, desperate howl. I waited for a response, but … nothing.
The water lapped around the boulder I stood on and as I glanced down at the choppy waves, I began to wonder if I really did like water. But Noah was out there, without me, and there was no way I was leaving him alone with Jake. I raised my muzzle to the air and tried to catch his distinctive smell to trace him, but there was only a sharp aroma that drifted back.
I knew that smell.
I took a deep breath and plunged into the water, my legs scrolling wildly as the shock of the cold took my breath away. I craned my neck to keep my head above the water and began to swim towards the only landmark that made sense – towards the cave’s mouth. The sound of frantic barking echoed off the cliff face and after a moment I realized that it was my own barks I could hear. Noah, don’t go!
I couldn’t believe he’d do this – he knew how important it was for us to stay together. I paddled on, following the strange, ta
ngy scent that I’d detected when Noah had fainted before. It wasn’t as strong this time, just a wisp snatched away on the sea breeze, but it was definitely there. A trained Detection Dog doesn’t make mistakes – not about smells. I knew deep in my bones that Noah shouldn’t be out in the water! And he definitely shouldn’t be alone in a hidden cave with a boy who didn’t much like him.
Oh, Noah, what are you doing? I charged on, my legs circling through the water faster than ever, my whole body trembling now until eventually I heaved myself up on to the rocks, panting hard. I’d managed to swallow some saltwater – yuck! – and my throat felt dry and scratchy. I stared into the dark, empty mouth of the cave and howled.
I glanced back towards the beach and gave another howl, the biggest of my life, to send a message that I hoped someone would hear. Then I turned to the cave, my heart beating wildly in my chest, as I took a deep, juddering breath.
I’m going in.
The cave was everything I expected it to be – dark, wet and scary. But I knew I had to be brave. Braver than I’d ever been in my short life. I glanced around the gloomy interior of the cave but it was hard to see anything other than the choppy waves of water reflecting the dripping stone roof. I listened hard – thank goodness for my sensitive Labrador ears – and heard the sound of a couple of voices coming from around one of the cave walls. If I could just get over there…
I dipped my nose to the water, trying to judge how deep it was. I lowered a paw to test, but before I knew what was happening, I lost my balance and my whole body went slipping and sliding into the sea!
I yowled with desperation as a cold wall of water hit my ribs and I wondered for a moment if this was it. I’m drowning! But as I prepared to give my last desperate bark, I realized I was standing on all four paws and the waves only came up to my chest. Well, that was embarrassing!
I began to walk through the rock pool, testing each slippery surface with a paw before transferring my weight. I still had to be careful – if I had an accident in here, no Human would find me. But this was about more than hurting another paw – I had to be there for Noah at all times. And in order to protect him, I had to protect myself. As I glanced out towards the ocean, I saw that the tide was coming in. The waves frothed and churned around me and I had to move quickly.
